South Korea military fires warning shots at North Koreans searching for defector: report

by Brett Samuels - 12/20/17 9:44 PM ET

South Korean military personnel fired roughly 20 warning shots at North Korean border guards looking for a defector, Yonhap News Agency reported Wednesday night.

A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea early Thursday. South Koreans fired warning shots as the North Koreans approached the border, the South Korean news agency reported, citing an official.

Roughly 40 minutes later, several gunshots were fired from the North, but no bullets crossed the border, according to the news agency.

It is the second defection in roughly a month.

A soldier drove across the Military Demarcation Line last month before continuing to South Korea on foot. Other North Korean soldiers began shooting at the defector, wounding him in the process.

In total, 15 North Korean people, including four soldiers, fled to the South in 2017, compared to just one soldier and four civilians in 2016, according to Yonhap.

Tags International relations Korea North Korea North Korean defectors North Korea–South Korea relations South Korea Terminology